1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a battery temperature control device, and more particularly, to a battery temperature control device for a lithium ion battery used in an electric vehicle.
2. Background Art
In recent years, electric cars are gaining attention as environment-friendly vehicles. As batteries used in the electric cars, lithium ion batteries with high energy density and high charge acceptability are becoming the mainstream.
Now, the lithium ion battery is highly dependent on temperature with respect to the charge/discharge performance and the life property, and to improve the battery performance such as the charge/discharge performance and the life property, the battery temperature has to be maintained within an appropriate temperature range.
JP Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 10-252467 A (1998) and JP Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 2009-110829 A disclose conventional devices for adjusting the battery temperature mentioned above.
A battery temperature adjusting device disclosed in JP Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 10-252467 A (1998) is a device for adjusting the battery temperature by introducing air inside a vehicle cabin into a battery case and cooling or warming a battery inside the battery case by the air.
Also, a battery temperature adjusting device disclosed in JP Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 2009-110829 A is a device for adjusting the battery temperature by introducing air inside a vehicle cabin into a battery, and at the same time, warming or cooling the air to be introduced into the battery by using a Peltier device in the case that the battery temperature is not within a predetermined temperature range.